Hold My Hand :Discontinued:
by MidnightBallad
Summary: The thoughts in Kai's head...a dream, a possessed rival and the longing for a loved one now lost. Can Kai get to her before it's too late, or will darkness take hold of her life as well as Kai's?
1. One Stormy Night

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Beyblade. If I did, I'd have to suffer with Tyson's stupidity x.X

**Claimer: **I own (from this chapter): Gen, Neblina, and Haine so HANDS OFF!

**MidnightBallad: **This is the re-written version for 'Family Ties', and I changed the title also, because I saw it used a few times for chapter headings and such. Don't forget to review when you're finished, thanks! The original Family Ties will be deleted eventually, but not until the new version's off the ground.

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_Hold my Hand_

_Chapter One: One Stormy Night_

Snow fell gently through the night air, spinning wildly whenever a sharp breeze kicked up. It dotted the cold stone streets and the roofs of houses, but blanketed the countryside in a sea of white. The stars were blocked out by thick, grey clouds, and buildings were hidden behind a thin layer of mist. The scenery was like something out of a ghost story; the pale glow of the streetlights did not penetrate the mist.

A shadow moved eerily in the streets of Moscow. The city seemed to tense itself up, waiting for whatever it was so reveal itself. And then the whole city seemed to sigh when a ginger cat sprung out of the darkness, scurrying away through the snow, between the iron bars of a gate. A gate that barred the entrance to a children's home.

Quite noisily, a car pulled up just in front of the home, and trundled up the short driveway to the gate. One of the tinted windows of the car wound itself down, and someone pressed a small button on an intercom, attached to a pair of pillars that held up the gate. A static voice broke over the intercom.

'_Welcome to 'The Saint's Orphanage.' How may we help you_?'

The passenger in the car – a man with a very dry voice – spoke back to the intercom. 'Yes. I desire to speak to the head of this home. Open the gates.'

'_Yes, sir_.'

Slowly, as if an unseen person was dragging them open, the iron gates opened to The Saint's Orphanage. The car came to a crunching stop outside of the doors of the orphanage, and the passenger door flew open. A black-dressed man stepped out of the car, slammed the door closed behind him, and stepped silently onto the landing by the front door. He clenched a gloved hand and beat against the wood loudly.

With a great creak, the doors opened. A very tall woman, with wavy brown hair and great green eyes, stood in the doorway. She clasped the hand of a small child, who had to be less than six years old. She nodded to the man in black.

'Welcome. How may I help you?'

The man said, 'I found this little girl. I do not know her name, but I think she belongs here.' He turned around and waved to the driver of his car. Another passenger door opened: another man stepped from the car, holding a one-year-old girl in his arms. She was dressed in a black and white dress, and her short blonde hair was glistening with snow.

The woman stepped forward, holding out her free arm. She managed to take the blonde child from the two men. Then she looked into the child's eyes, and stroked her hair. 'I assume you wish to leave her in my presence?'

'That would be good,' the first man said. 'I hope that you can arrange that. Your home is not too crowded?'

'No. Where did you find this girl again?'

'On the streets. I fear that she is unwell.'

The woman wiped a small snowflake from the child's cheek. 'We shall have a doctor come to her tomorrow morn –'

Suddenly, the final passenger door of the car burst open. A small, blue/silver-haired boy rushed toward the woman, arms outstretched, his cheeks pink with distress. 'Wait! No, _sister_!'

The first man seized the boy by the shoulders and pushed him back toward the car. 'Get back inside, _now_!'

The woman holding the little girl looked bewildered. 'This girl is his sister?'

'No!' the man snapped. 'My grandson likes to make up fantasies. No doubt he thought I had adopted –'

'_Gen_!' the little boy screamed. 'Don't go! I love you!'

It was in that instant when the man in black smacked his grandson across the face. It became even pinker, and the woman of the children's home stepped back. Without another word, the two men and the little boy left. And the woman watched as the car drove away, the boy's face streaked with tears, looking out the window.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

'Gen!' Kai shouted as he awoke, his bed sheets nearly ripping. His heart pounded in his chest, and tears welled in his crimson eyes. Kai dropped his head onto his knees, squeezing his ankles tightly. He fought back the tears; they stained his sheets, and Kai bit his lip until it bled.

'Kai?' someone asked in the darkness of the dojo. 'Was that you?' It was Max. Kai did not want to answer him.

'He's just dreaming...' Rei said sleepily, though his neko-like eyes were wide open. A storm was lashing overhead, and lightning lit his eyes like burning flames. Kai saw Rei close them again and fall back to sleep. Max crawled out of his makeshift bed and over to Kai.

'What's up? Are you..._crying_?'

'WOAH!' Tyson shouted, suddenly wide-awake. 'Kai's crying. I have to see this!'

Kai winced as the lights flashed on and thunder rolled across the sky. He was soon looking into the eyes of all the Bladebreakers, as well as Hilary and Kenny. Tyson was on his hands and knees straight in Kai's face, a huge grin plastered across his face.

'What's wrong, Kai? What were you dreaming about?' Tyson said loudly, as if wanting the rest of the world to hear him. Kai just sat and stared at him much in the way a wolf stares at its opponent in a fight. Cringing, Tyson backed away.

'It's none of your business!' Kai hissed, climbing out of his bed. 'Go back to sleep.' He made for the door out of the dojo.

'Wait!' Max called after him. 'Where are you going?'

Kai wrenched the sliding door open. 'For a walk – why, do you want to come?'

Max wriggled back into his bed, as if he'd been hurt. 'No... It's just that it's storming out there. You'll get blown off your feet!'

Kai spun around to face Max. His crimson eyes seemed to blaze with an inner fire. 'Well, then you can come and pull me out of a tree in the morning.' He stepped out onto the small veranda that circled the dojo, and slid the door shut hard.

Instantly, he was lashed at by rain. Kai walked slowly, gazing over his shoulder at the door. In a few moments, the lights went off. Shoving his hands in his pocket, Kai went out into the rain without a second glance back.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The streets were dark and wet, but at least it was quiet here. Not even a dog barked. For this, Kai was grateful, and he was able to think straight for a moment.

The dream that Kai had experienced was not the first – he had dreamt it many times, ever since he had come back to Japan for a reunion with the Bladebreakers. And each time, the dream was clearer, therefore made Kai shake with anger...or maybe it was fear?

_Fear_? Kai thought to himself. _It's a stupid dream! What's so scary about that?_

He stopped in the middle of a puddle. Kai felt that he was being watched – closely. By who or what, he had no idea, but he quickly picked up the pace and paused beneath a streetlight. He watched the rain fall, the moths fluttering around by the globe of the light, almost in a dance.

_Chunk_. The lamp went out. As did every other lamp in the street. Kai was standing in darkness. Complete darkness. He felt his heart begin to race again, faster then when he had seen his dream. Swallowing deeply, he made for the only light in the street, coming from the front of a small midnight café, which was just closing down for the night.

Kai began to walk faster. And faster, until he was running. The rain whipped at his face, drenched his hair, and made his shoes slip on the pavement. Whatever – _who_ever – was watching him, Kai knew that they were right behind him.

Unthinkingly, Kai seized a garbage bin from outside of the café. It was light, and had only just been emptied. So it had no trouble flying out of Kai's hand and crashing (with a loud bang) straight into Kai's stalker.

Panting, Kai stepped forward, the rain silent in his ears. All he cared about was the person who had been –

'Ozuma?' Kai asked, shocking himself. The short boy with the duo-coloured hair lay motionless on the ground. Forgetting his fear, Kai bent down and shook Ozuma lightly.

'Hey. Are you okay?'

Ozuma suddenly jerked, his eyes snapped open, his gloved hands reached out and seized Kai around the neck. He slammed Kai into the pavement, his grip tightening by the second...

'Ozuma?' Kai choked, trying to pry the boy's grip from him. 'What the hell are you doing!?'

_Ozuma's not here, _said a voice in Kai's mind. _For tonight, he is my puppet._

Kai gasped, 'Who are you?'

The creature inhabiting Ozuma said, _You may call me Haine...a creature of nightmares, of fear, of sorrows._

'And what do you want?' Kai gagged, on his last breath. He was so dizzy now, that he felt he could barely move.

_Why, I am from your dream, Kai. And now my sorrow will take hold of you, and I will send your soul away to the place of no return_! Haine laughed in his mind, continuing to use Ozuma's hands to squeeze the life out of Kai. The boy began to drift away...

'Haine!' came a very loud, female voice. 'Release him!'

'Neblina!' Haine gasped, using Ozuma's voice. 'What are you doing here?'

Kai couldn't see the girl, but he could hear her. The thud of something hard hitting Ozuma/Haine, the cry of something unhuman, before Ozuma's grasp was gone and Kai was left lying, gasping for air, on the ground.

'_Despierto..._'

Kai felt a cold palm over his forehead, and warmth spread through his body. It almost made Kai smile stupidly, and he opened his eyes. Above him was a woman, with the whitest skin he'd ever seen, long silver hair, and eyes the colour of the midday sky. Her entire body glowed with white light, and her smile made Kai's strength come back.

'Who are you?' Kai asked in a coarse whisper. The woman that Haine had called Neblina took her palm from Kai's forehead.

'I shall tell you, in time.' Neblina said. 'All you need to know now is that my name is Neblina. I will come back to see you, Kai. Until then, I advise you to go back home.' She gazed at Ozuma's still body. 'I cannot force Haine to leave your friend yet, so you are still in danger.'

Neblina pulled Kai to his feet. He saw that she had _wings_, comprised from pure light, but still in the shape of feathers. The wings were so large that, even though they were closed, they were each at least thrice the width of Neblina.

'Go home _now_,' Neblina said. 'I will answer all of your questions, including those of your dream.'

Closing her eyes, Neblina vanished in a flash of light. Kai stared, transfixed, at the place where she once stood. He lowered his gaze to the ground, where the angel had left a single, white feather. Cautiously, Kai picked it up, and then turned to Ozuma. He felt guilty leaving him, but if Ozuma was _really _possessed, then Kai had no choice.

'Sayonara...' Kai muttered, heading back to the dojo at a run.

**End Chapter One**

**MidnightBallad: **Did you like that? Please say you liked that! It's a big change from the original Family Ties, and I personally think it's a better change. Please review, and I apologize if it's long!

Look at the list below, it helps with the words that aren't in English, seeing as Neblina will speak Spanish sometimes.

**Haine: **Means 'hatred' in French.

**Neblina: **Means 'mist' in Spanish.

**Despierto: **Means 'awake' in Spanish.


	2. Regardless of Warnings

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Beyblade. If I did, I'd have to suffer with Robert's bad hair (sorry, Robert fans).

**Claimer: **I own (from this chapter): Haine.

**MidnightBallad: **This is the re-written version for 'Family Ties', and I changed the title also, because I saw it used a few times for chapter headings and such. Don't forget to review when you're finished, thanks! The original Family Ties will be deleted eventually, but not until the new version's off the ground. Enjoy chapter two!

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_Hold my Hand_

_Chapter Two: Regardless of Warnings_

Kai didn't care about what Neblina had said: he was not going back to the dojo straight away. Not yet, anyway. He had to find the Saint Shield's hideout, and maybe he could tell them about Ozuma. They would be in trouble too, if the spirit inside of Ozuma ran into them.

Kai knew where he was going. There was a huge abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of town, and that's where the Saint Shields had to be. Hurrying through the rain, Kai sincerely wished he had brought Dranzer with him.

Whilst he went along, Kai's thoughts wondered back to his dream. There was something about it...as if it were not a dream, but more like a very old memory. And Kai yearned to know what it was about.

_Sooner of later_, Kai thought. _Neblina will tell me_.

Kai neared the end of the street. He could see the warehouse in the darkness, a lop-sided hunk of tin, which wrung with the noise of the rain slapping against it. Holding his breath, Kai bolted toward it, across the empty street, through an ankle-deep puddle, and straight toward the partly opened door of the warehouse.

Kai clenched his fist and beat upon the tin. 'Hello?' he shouted above the noise of rain on metal. 'Anyone home?'

Silence. Kai was beginning to hate the sound. So, he flexed his fingers and wrenched the door open. Rust fell from the roof and hinges of the door, and Kai stepped into the semi-dry warehouse.

It was a maze of metal staircases and platforms, save for one area in the middle, which had been cleared and fenced off with a few empty barrels of fuel. Sighing, Kai called, 'Hello? I need to talk to someone about Ozuma!'

Someone moved above Kai. Kai stepped back, craning his neck up to gaze at the upper levels of the warehouse. A pair of bright green eyes stared at him from above. 'Is that you, Kai?' came a scared voice.

'Yeah, it's me.' Kai answered. He knew who it was: it was Mariam (A/N: Correct my spelling if it's wrong).

The purple-haired girl came leaping from the upper level, landing before Kai with a loud thud. She looked at him with pure fear in her eyes.

'Ozuma just started to scream wildly, as if he weren't human, and then he took off all of a sudden,' Mariam whispered. 'The other two went to look for him.'

Kai frowned, nodding. 'I ran into him. Ozuma's...let's just say he's not himself. You're in danger here, you can't stay.'

Mariam spun her hair nervously around one finger. 'Did you see Josef out there?'

Kai shook his head. Personally, he couldn't care less about Mariam's team mates, but he didn't want to show it. Mariam pursed her lips, and nodded. 'Alright.' She looked at Kai strangely. 'Why are you out so late at night?'

'I...I couldn't sleep.' Kai lied. He could almost hear the crying of his dream in his head. 'I had to get some fresh air. Now let's go, I'm freezing my butt off.'

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Kai and Mariam left the warehouse in silence. The rain still poured down, but neither of the two tried too hard to stay dry. Kai was already soaked from his fight with Ozuma/Haine, and was also splattered with mud and other sorts of things that one would find on the streets.

'So...' Mariam said, trying to start up a conversation. 'Why are you really out here, Kai?'

Kai shoved his hands in his pockets. 'That's for me to know, and for you to find out?'

Mariam laughed softly to herself. 'If I guess what it is, will you tell me?'

Kai glanced sideways at Mariam. She was leaning forward, looking at his face, as if trying to bring a confession out of Kai. Kai smirked. 'Alright. If you can guess, I'll tell you.'

Mariam leant back. 'Okay then...was someone's snoring keeping you up?'

Kai grinned. It sounded like something Tyson would do – it _was _something Tyson would do. 'Nope, that's not it.'

'Okay,' Mariam said, gazing up at the rainy sky. 'How about...dreams?'

Kai paused through mid-step. He blinked at Mariam through his crimson eyes. 'Yeah.'

'Or are they nightmares?' Marian asked slowly. Kai went to answer, when he heard footsteps coming down the path toward them. Footsteps that were being dragged, as if the person were wounded. Heart beginning to race again, Kai grabbed Mariam by the wrist and stepped off the footpath into a patch of trees that separated the park from the main road.

'Be quiet, maybe he didn't see us.' Kai whispered to Mariam, who nodded and slunk back into the shadows. Kai watched her disappear, and then turned to look at the footpath.

With one leg dragging behind, Josef appeared through the rain. His face was scratched badly; he had been in a scuffle and lost. And his ankle was slightly twisted, and Kai could see the bruise forming beneath Josef's shoe.

'Josef!' Mariam whispered to herself, running out of the safety of the trees. 'What happened?'

'Mariam!' Kai objected in a coarse whisper. 'Get back in here!'

Josef collapsed on the ground, and Mariam caught him. Josef panted, 'Ozuma...we tried to help him. But there's something wrong with him. He's not human. Mariam – we have to get out of here.'

Kai stepped out of the shadows. Josef looked up at him, a small trickle of blood running down his cheek. 'Kai? Ozuma said he was looking for you...said –' Josef winced as Mariam touched his ankle slightly. 'He said that you have something that he wants.'

Kai knelt down in front of Josef. 'Like what?'

'Don't ask me!' Josef said breathlessly. 'But whatever it is, Ozuma wants is badly. He said he'd do anything...even kill your Beyblading team.'

Kai wavered with shock. It wasn't Mariam and Josef who were in trouble this time: it was Tyson and the others.

'Go to them, Kai.' Mariam said, helping Josef to his feet. 'We'll catch up later.'

Josef gave a grim nod. 'We've gotta find Dunga, too.'

Kai looked between the duo of the Saint Shields. 'Are you sure?'

'Positive.' Mariam said. 'Hurry up!'

Kai waved over his shoulder as he made for the dojo at a full pelt run.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The dojo's lights were still out as Kai arrived. He ran up onto the veranda, shoes splashing water everywhere, and he took a firm grip on the handle of the sliding door. It was jammed shut.

'Damn it!' Kai muttered. 'Tyson! Max! Rei! Anyone?'

Silence. Complete, utter silence. Now Kai was beginning to worry. Holding his breath, Kai took the handle again and pulled –

The door slowly came open. When he stepped inside, Kai realised why it had been jammed tight. Hilary's still body was lying against it.

'Hilary?' Kai asked quietly, shaking the girl roughly. 'Are you okay?'

Hilary didn't move. Kai suddenly heard a soft laughter in the darkness of the room, and he shouted, 'Who's there?'

'You didn't listen to Neblina, did you?' came the familiar, dark voice of the possessed Ozuma. 'And now I have you alone again, and I can kill your friends at this moment –'

Kai gazed around the room. Every one of his friends were lying oddly on the ground, tangled in their beds or, like Hilary, slammed up against walls. There had been some hell of a fight here.

'What do you want from me!?' Kai said, his voice still raised.

Ozuma/Haine paused before he spoke. 'Do you know what my job is, Kai?'

Kai gritted his teeth. 'I have a feeling I'm about to find out.'

Ozuma/Haine appeared from the shadows, grinning mischievously and walking towards Kai – in return, Kai stepped back. 'In my former life, I was a thief and a liar. I sinned, simply; murder also. So when I arrived at the Gates of Hell, the Devil knew that I could help him. He sent me back to earth as a spirit to capture souls that he could use for...various purposes. The thing was, the person's soul had to be experiencing sorrow before I could steal it. This comes about to you, because you have been having nightmares of your _sorrowful _past.'

Kai's back hit the wall of the dojo. A tear of sweat ran down his face. 'So...you're going to kill me?' Kai asked in a hush.

Ozuma/Haine quickly wrapped a hand tightly around Kai's throat again, his hand ablaze with black fire. 'No, Kai. Worse – much worse.'

**End Chapter Two**

**MidnightBallad: **Sorry, I was supposed to put THIS chapter with the last one, but then I realised I'd wrote hardly any of it. Review if you will and tell me what you think.

I also have a very good thing to say (**takes deep breath**)...G-Revolution is out in Australia!!! And not on Foxtel/Cable either! Woohoo! (**dances around stupidly**). Aha, yay! I'm loving it (**cheesy grin**).


	3. The Home

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Beyblade. If I did, I'd have to suffer with Max's sugar-highs o.0

**Claimer: **I own (from this chapter): Susi, Madár and the Doctor.

**MidnightBallad: **Sorry if updates come a little slow. I try to get this story written fast, but my Yu-Gi-Oh fic is draining all the creative-ness out of me (**sigh**). But I really like this story, because its supernatural (yay!) and crazy. It should be under the 'romance' category too, because both Kai and Rei will eventually be pairing up with someone –

Oops, I've said too much.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

_Hold my Hand_

_Chapter Three: The Home_

Kai could barely breathe, but he did not feel like concentrating on that too much. His head spun, his lungs ached and he could feel an immense cold washing over his body. All he could hear in his head was screaming...

'_Wait_! _No, sister_!'

'_Get back inside, now_!'

Kai struggled. Ozuma/Haine's grip only tightened. 'That's it, Kai. Give into your sorrow.'

Kai could hear other voices now, but they were not from his dreams.

'_We have to get rid of her, now. She is a threat to Biovolt, and to everything we have planned for Kai in the future_!'

'_And we do this by death_?'

'_It would not be my first option – but if it comes to it_...'

Kai gritted his teeth, gasping, 'What the hell are you doing?'

Ozuma/Haine laughed loudly. 'Come on, Kai! You cannot resist the temptation of the dark side of your mind!'

Kai felt himself falling in and out of unconsciousness. And he could hear the screaming, the words, flooding back to him.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Kai awoke on a cold, wooden floor. He could smell dust between his nostrils, and hear quiet coughs above his head. Groaning, Kai pushed himself to his knees, gazing around the dark room.

The walls were lined with moth-eaten bunk beds, where small forms lay in fitful sleeps and noisy dreams. There were also the same forms lying all over the ground, snuggled in tightly to paper-thin blankets. Sometimes, a child would begin to sob, only to fall silent eventually.

Still kneeling on the ground, Kai snapped around as the door to the room opened, and a bream of yellow light slunk into the room – a light from a torch. A girl with short, dirty-blonde hair stepped into the room. Kai assessed her briefly.

She wore a very long, brown coat with holes at the elbows and in some of the pockets; they had been mended badly with small material patches. A dark purple scarf was wrapped around the neck of the girl, the tassels on the end fraying slightly. Beneath the coat, the girl wore a little black dress with dark maroon stockings and, of course, the black boots Kai had heard on the floorboards. Her unkept, blonde hair hung in front of eyes that were deep brown, and her dark red lips were dotted with small flakes of snow.

The girl went a little further into the room, shining the torch on the children that lay in the bunks and on the floor. The girl brushed hair from her eyes and bent down to a little girl that slept at her feet, curled up in a patchwork quilt. Smiling, the blonde girl brushed a curly red lock of hair from the child's face and straightened up, shining the torch right at Kai.

She didn't even blink. Glancing around the room, the girl turned and left, leaving the door open just a bit.

Kai frowned – why hadn't the girl even _looked _at him? Perhaps she thought Kai was just like these other children: homeless and orphaned.

Wherever Kai was, he thought that asking the girl where he was. Kai stood up, not even making a noise on the floor as he made his way through the children that slept on. Carefully, Kai squeezed through the gap in the door, so not to wake the kids, and exited the room.

He came to a green-carpeted hallway, lined here and there with softly-glowing oil lamps. Kai saw the blonde girl step from another room, closing the door behind her once again. Clinging to her hand was brown-haired boy wearing a long nightgown and grasping a teddy bear.

'Come on, Madár. We'll go see the Doctor now.'

Kai took a deep breath and hurried up behind the blonde girl and the boy with her. 'Hey! Can you help me?'

The blonde girl spun around. Kai felt a very strange sensation all of a sudden; as if he were been looked _through. _'Hey,' Kai repeated. 'Can you help me?'

The blonde frowned, walking toward Kai. She was inches from him, before Kai held out a hand to stop her. 'Hang on a sec –'

He gasped when the girl walked straight through him. She was a ghost. Kai felt his entire body freeze up. Why was he in a house full of ghosts?

Kai thought wordlessly for a second, looked down at his hands. He could see the green carpet through them. So, _he _was the ghost. Did that mean that Haine had killed him?!

Kai spun around when he heard a door snap shut. It was just the blonde girl closing the door from where Kai had left. As she walked back to the child in the hall, she muttered, 'Shouldn't have left that open. Come on, Madár.'

She passed straight through Kai again. Kai shivered greatly, and watched as the girl switched off her torch, pocketed it, and took Madár down the hall.

Kai was beginning to worry now. He had no idea how to get out of this vision and back to the real world. That is, if he was even alive back in the real world. The worst thing was that he couldn't communicate with anyone in this vision. He was trapped.

'Oh _no_!' Kai whispered, gazing around. 'How do I get out of here?' He looked down the other end of the hall, where the blonde girl and Madár were vanishing out of site into the floor. Kai realised that they were taking a flight of stairs down.

'Oh, good, so I'm not going crazy...' Kai said sarcastically. He hurried after them, not bothering to try to keep quiet – he knew he was going to made as much noise as a still sofa anyway.

Kai followed the blonde girl and Madár down the stairs, noticing that a lot of the wallpaper had large holes in it. This place reminded Kai slightly of those horror-filled mansions.

_That's what Tyson would say anyway_... Kai thought. The blonde girl gasped, whirling around. Madár begun to whimper.

'Who's there?' the girl demanded, flicking her torch on. 'If you want to rob us, you're wasting your time!'

Kai realised that the girl was looking straight through him again. Just in case, he waved. Narrowing her eyes, the girl flicked off her torch and made her way across the room; what looked like some sort of lounge room. It was full of the moon's light, and some expensive-looking sofas sat by a dead fire. The blonde girl walked straight through the lounge room, with Madár still clasping to her hand.

Kai examined the room a bit more – it certainly looked like something from a haunted mansion. Paintings, moose heads on the wall and a large bookshelf. Kai stared at once of the paintings. A small gold plaque beneath it read: _Toby Scotts, Headmaster 1950 – 1990. _So, he was either in a very old school or some sort of orphanage.

Kai passed through the room to come to yet another room. It was full of old rocking horses, yo-yos and other children's toys. A bookshelf was packed full of magazines and young adult books for obviously some older people. In the middle of this room, the blonde girl had stopped, and an older-looking man was examining Madár. With him was some sort of first aid kit.

'It's just the flu, he should be better soon.' The old man said. 'He just needs rest.'

The blonde girl nodded, sitting down on one of the sofas in the room. Madár gave a delighted squeal and begun to swing back and forth on one of the rocking horses.

'Can't you get some medicine for him, Doctor?' the blonde girl asked, watching Madár swing back and forth on the horse. 'We surely can't be in so much depth that the government won't supply us medicine.'

The Doctor shook his head, rubbing grey stubble on his face. 'No...and I'm afraid that we are no closer to paying off the debts than we were a month ago.'

The girl's eyes seemed to fill with fear. 'But...what will we do?'

The Doctor gazed out the window. It was snowing lightly. 'We have enough money to keep this orphanage open for a while... Then the government will either move you kids, or you'll be left on the streets.'

'What?' the girl cried, jumping to her feet. 'They can't do that!'

The Doctor looked sadly at the girl. 'There is little else they can do. Now, get some sleep, Susi.' He left the room. The blonde girl, Susi, sat back down and buried her face in her hands. She did not cry, but she just sat there silently.

Kai went over to her, feeling pity boil in his heart. He felt for Susi, even though he wasn't sure if she was real or not. He knelt down in front of Susi and sighed deeply. 'I know how you feel. I don't exactly have parents either.'

_At least you don't have annoying grandfathers_! Kai said in his head.

Susi suddenly gasped very loudly, head snapping up. She stared straight through Kai again, and her lip trembled. 'I'm going crazy...' Susi muttered, standing up. 'Come on, Madár.'

The little boy climbed off the horse, when the realisation hit Kai. Susi picked up Madár and began to leave the room, when Kai cried out to her in his mind, _Wait_!

Susi stopped, and Madár gazed over her shoulder. Susi spun around, watching the sofa where she once sat. This time, she frowned, as if she were confused. '... Hello?'

_Susi_, Kai thought, looking straight at the girl. _I need your help_.

Susi swallowed. 'What are you? A demon?' She held Madár closely to her. 'I don't help demons.'

_I'm not a demon, honestly. I just need you to help me_.

Susi put Madár down and whispered to him, 'Go back to bed. I'll be up to check on you.' Then she spoke to Kai. 'What is your name?'

_Kai_. He paused. _Kai Hiwatari_.

Susi nodded slowly. 'Um...how can I help you?'

_I don't know, _Kai thought. _I was hoping you could tell me. Susi, I think I'm trapped here_.

**End Chapter Three**

**MidnightBallad: **Okay, that was rather random and useless. Don't fret, this vision will have something to do with the rest of the story. I have some reviews to answer from chapter one and two:

**SchoolBoredom: **Hey, you did find my new story! I'm glad you're, um...getting into it. I guess this chapter didn't really answer your freak-out-ness, and I'm glad you like this story better! (**burns the original 'Family Ties'**)

**Frostt: **I'm glad you like it, I'm not very good at the whole ghost and spirit stuff.

To the rest of you: Thanks for reviewing and all of your positive comments!

- Happy Holidays


	4. Between Times

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Beyblade. If I did, I'd have to suffer with Rei's new elf ears o.0

**Claimer: **I own (from this chapter): Susi

Replies to reviews:

**Fiver: **Yes, all questions will be answered in time **::smirk:: **Good predictions, though... :)

**Lookintomyeyeswhatdoyousee: **Wow, that's possibly the longest penname I've ever seen...anyway, yeah, I'm loving G-rev, very good stuff :D

**MidnightBallad: **AHH! Slow update! I'm going to continue this story (it was close to being discontinued), I think, because once any of my stories hit over ten reviews in less than four chapters then it's set. Anyway...I'll try to answer your old question, **SchoolBoredom**, in this chapter. Oh yeah, words in _italics _are Kai's thoughts, and they're the way he communicates with Susi.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

_Hold my Hand_

_Chapter Four: Between Times_

'I believe that there are three different time frames: past, present and future. But then, there is a time that does not belong to the first three, and it really isn't a time, either. Memories. Unlike past, present and future, memories can be accessed any time and can be..._walked_, if a person is in the correct state. Usually, they are in a coma. But, then again, all memories can be seen if a person is dead.'

Kai had explained everything that had happened to himself ever since he'd come home from his night out in the rain, and found his friends all unconscious in the dojo. And then when Haine had sent him into a world of nightmares...which, Kai found out, really wasn't as bad as he'd thought.

Or, maybe Haine had done his job wrong.

Susi had been very helpful and explained what she thought about the demon. Kai was surprised to find that she seemed _interested _in these things. Susi said that it came from living in a place where nightmares were as real as hell themselves, and children claimed they saw demons stalking them in the hallways.

_So..._ Kai said in his mind, the only way Susi seemed to be able to hear him. _Does that mean I'm dead? Or...my soul's missing?_

Susi sighed, shrugged. 'I don't know. To be honest...I think your soul is trapped _here_.'

Kai felt a chill wander down his spine. _All right...then how do I get it out?_

Susi chewed her lip for a moment, before replying: 'I have to do some chores around the home tomorrow...but maybe we – I – can sneak out. We could go to the church.'

Kai raised an eyebrow. He assumed that Susi could see it, because she smiled slightly. In the end, Kai just said, 'We may as well try.'

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Rei awoke with dull sunlight in his eyes. Groaning, he sat up, gazing around the place. The last thing he remembered was being kicked into a wall by someone who looked very familiar –

'Kai?' Rei whispered, seeing Kai lying on the floor a few feet from him. Crawling over on his hands and knees, Rei shook him a bit. 'Hey, are you awake?'

It was then that Kai actually rolled over from Rei's excessive shaking. And Rei was so freaked that he retreated right back into the wall, completely frozen with shock. Kai's eyes were completely white, and he just stared at the ceiling. Dead? Who knows...

'Oh...my...God...' Rei whispered.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The home was quite a different place in the morning. It seemed _happier_. All the younger children were running around, rolling down the stairs or playing with toys, but still in a good manner. Kai noticed that Susi appeared to be one of the oldest girls there, apart from two boys that looked about seventeen, and she was certainly doing a lot of work. Mostly cleaning, whilst trying to satisfy the younger children's wants.

By midday, Susi was certainly run down and retreated to her dormitory, which she shared with two nine-year-old girls. Kai had been following Susi all day, but he hadn't been in her dormitory before.

Immediately Kai noticed the bed of one of Susi's roommates – it was cluttered with all sorts of things, mostly drawings and ancient-looking photographs. Kai leant over a drawing of the little girl's and saw a stick-figure image of what looked like a little girl holding hands with her parents. Kai could make out the words 'mummy' and 'daddy' next to the figures.

He looked up just in time to see Susi stuff something under her pillow and turn around. She gazed around the room before whispering, 'Kai?'

_Yeah? _Kai thought. In Susi's eyes, he appeared out of thin air as he spoke, and vanished as he fell silent. At least Susi knew where he was.

'...We can go, now. I've finished my work.'

_What was that?_

'What was what?'

_The thing under your pillow_?

Susi frowned slightly. 'Nothing. Let's go.' She wrapped a scarf around her neck, and raced from the room.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

It was freezing outside, so Susi walked quickly through the streets, her shoes leaving scattered footprints in the snow. Kai followed her, looking at the buildings as he passed them. Funny, they all looked familiar –

'Kai? You still there?'

Kai nodded and said, _Yeah. Why_?

'Nothing. You're just quiet, that's all. I can tell if you're there or not.' A car raced by them in the street, and Susi sighed. 'I feel like I'm talking to myself...'

_Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere._

They walked for a bit more, before Kai decided to ask some questions. _So...Susi, huh? What is that – Finnish_?

Susi nodded. 'Finnish for wolf.'

_Where'd you get that name from_? Kai wondered. Susi put her hands in her pockets – one of which had a hole in it.

'No one knows my real name. When I was put in the home, the person who dumped me never gave the headmistress my name, because they didn't know it. The headmistress named me Susi because she said I reminded her of a wolf. So, when she left, the name got stuck with me.'

_I don't suppose she meant 'lone wolf' when she gave you the name_? Kai asked, smiling slightly. Susi did the same. 'Maybe she did.'

They eventually came to the church – small, made from sandstone and very tidy. The flowerbeds that stood before it were covered in snow, and footprints dotted the pathway that led to the church's front door.

And as soon as Susi opened the door, they were met with a strange sight indeed.

Standing in the doorway was a very tall woman dressed in a spotless white gown; her bright hair hung loosely on her shoulders, and a pair of very large angel wings lay motionless on the ground behind her, shining like the sun. A smile spread over the woman's face, and Kai felt a strange warmth return to his body.

'Neblina?' Kai asked, using his voice this time. 'How'd you...get here?'

Neblina held out her hands. 'Haine may be a demon from the pits of hell, but I am an angel from the light of heaven. He takes away souls, and I can give them back.'

Kai gave a very deep breath.

'I have been waiting here for you, Kai. As soon as I found out that Haine cast you into this time, I knew that I had to come for you. I apologize for not telling you anything about your friend Ozuma being possessed by Haine, but I felt that those things could wait.' Neblina held out her hands further. 'But...maybe Haine sending you here wasn't such a bad idea at all... It's time for you to come back, now.'

Kai went to take Neblina's hand, but then noticed Susi standing alone, watching the angel Neblina with bright eyes. Kai thought to her, _Susi: thank you for your help. You led me straight to my ticket back home._

Susi looked at him, smiling softly. 'You're welcome, Kai Hiwatari.'

_I guess I owe you one now. I'll come see you one day._

Susi smiled a bit wider. She almost looked sad. 'I'd like that.'

_I'll see you round, then_. With that, Kai took Neblina's hands and everything – the church, the home, Susi – was gone in a bright flash of light...

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Back in the real world, Hilary shrieked as Kai's seemingly dead body _blinked_. She shivered as Kai sat up, and the Bladebreakers (minus Hilary) all hasped. They noticed that Kai's hands glowed strangely, and it was Tyson who broke the silence.

'Are you...a ghost?' he asked, poking Kai in the gut. Kai whacked Tyson over the head and he stumbled back. Kai flexed his fingers. Solid.

'Well, if I was a ghost, I couldn't have done that.' Kai said, almost smiling.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

MidnightBallad: And that's the end of that chapter. If you're confused, more about it will be in the next chapter or a little bit further on. To everyone who reviewed or is reviewing now, thanks so much :) I say sorry now for any typos that appeared in the chapter: I was in a rush to get this chapter written and up.


	5. The Soul Catcher

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Beyblade. If I did, I'd have to suffer with Daichi's...annoying-ness 0.x

**Claimer: **I own (from this chapter): Susi, Haine and the _Soul Catcher _Beyblade.

Replies to reviews:

**Lookintomyeyeswhatdoyousee: **Uh...thanks for the review, I was sitting at my desk thinking that no one was going to review today but then I read yours and I was so happy I think your review alone makes me want to keep writing. I have been told I should be a writer, and I write novels in my spare time. I never post them online because they are too important to me and I don't want any of my work stolen – but if you go to my account at , then there's one I have there, but it's seriously crappy and discontinued. Anywho...thanks again, and there's going to be a full chapter dedicated to answers, don't worry.

**SchoolBoredom: **Thanks for reading my story as well as the sucky old one!

**MidnightBallad: **I don't care that I'm not getting many reviews, I just want to finish this damn story! It won't be long (hopefully). I was also wondering if anyone could give me a stack of info on Tala, or direct me to a website that has a stack of info. Thank you, and enjoy the chapter!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

_Hold my Hand_

_Chapter Five: The Soul Catcher_

Later that day, after a heavy lunch and a serious nap-time (this one absent of dreams), Kai sat outside the dojo, watching the day pass by in a chorus of birds tweeting, cars honking and Tyson and Hilary fighting.

By now, Kai had told his team about his strange dream, but he knew that they all had their doubts.

As usual, a large bicker between Hilary and Tyson had shot up again.

'Well, it's not _my _problem!' Hilary shouted, stepping out the door. 'If your Bey-thingie's not working, talk to Kenny about it!'

'Gee, Hilary, thanks...' Tyson muttered. Huffing, Hilary slid the door shut and noticed Kai sitting on the porch, watching her with a raised eyebrow and a small smile.

Hilary beamed. 'Hey, Kai. How are 'ya feeling?' She sat down next to him, tucking her arms under her knees.

Kai shrugged. 'Okay, I guess.'

Hilary continued to smile, but then her face fell. 'When you were in that dream...I thought you were dead.'

Kai looked sideways at her. Hilary looked seriously worried, and her eyes were rimed with tears. _Great, _Kai thought. _She's going to cry on me. Better say something..._

'Hey, it's okay,' Kai said seriously. 'I'm not going to die on you.'

Hilary snapped to look at him. 'I know. You're stronger than that.' With that, Hilary stood up and went inside, leaving Kai feeling very uncomfortable indeed.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

It was later that afternoon, when the Bladebreakers had decided to go to the park for some training, that Mariam and Josef approached Kai, who was sitting down on a bench. Kai looked up, and saw Mariam and Josef looking quite upset about something.

'What's up?' Kai asked without even greeting them. Mariam whimpered a bit, so Josef answered for her:

'Dunga didn't come back from looking for Ozuma. We...don't know what's happened to him!'

Kai knew what had happened immediately – the dark spirit possessing Ozuma had obviously got a hold of Dunga somehow. Maybe he had hurt him and stashed him away somewhere. Whatever the case, Kai knew he was responsible. After all, wasn't Ozuma/Haine after him?

'Have you got any idea where they went?' Kai asked, frowning slightly. Josef shook his head, and Mariam knelt down on the ground so that she was eye-level with Kai. 'Please...can you help us, Kai?'

Kai hesitated, before nodding. 'Sure.' He got up off the bench, stretched wide. 'Where was he last?'

'That's the thing, we don't know.' Mariam said. Then she bit her lip. 'Why don't we check our hideout?'

'Good idea.' Kai said, moving to leave with the Saint Shield duo, but someone grabbed Kai by the back of his shirt.

'Where do you think you're going? We have practice, remember?' Hilary said snappily. She was out of her sensitive mode and back into her agro mode. 'You can't just go running off, Kai!'

Kai shook her off and said, 'Hilary – something serious has happened. Dunga's just vanished, and it has something to do with that guy who attacked you and the others last night.'

Suddenly, Hilary was all sensitive again. 'Oh...right. Well – you go, and be careful.'

Kai just nodded and hurried off with Mariam and Josef.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The Saint Shield's hideout was very quiet, only the sounds of rainwater dripping into a large metal barrel broke the possible silence. Josef slid the warehouse door open, and gazed around inside. He took a deep, shaky breath and called, 'Dunga? Ozuma?'

No answer.

'Haine!' Kai called loudly and boldly. 'Get yourself down here! You've caused enough trouble already!'

_Zip_! Kai slammed himself up against the door as a Beyblade went flying past him, and returned to its owner's hand with a loud slap. Ozuma/Haine hopped off of a large crate, his body covered in the shadows. 'Hello, Kai. I see Neblina bailed you out of that dream I sent you to.'

'Why did you do that?' Kai demanded, forgetting why he was really here.

Ozuma/Haine smiled. 'There is a reason...but why don't I show you?' He held out his Beyblade, and instantly Mariam and Josef knew it was not his own. It was made of a clear black stone, and its inner depths glowed faintly. 'This is the _Soul Catcher _blade. Observe.'

He launched the _Soul Catcher_, and it landed silently in the ground, the inside of it growing brighter and brighter –

And then it exploded in light, and Kai, Mariam and Josef were thrown against the wall. When they opened their eyes, they saw a remarkable sight indeed: Ozuma and Dunga, standing mindlessly beside the _Soul Catcher_, eyes half shut, they bodies pale and translucent.

'Ozuma!' Mariam gasped.

'Dunga?' Josef muttered questioningly.

'They're ghosts.' Kai whispered. Ozuma/Haine just smiled. 'Not ghosts; souls. Souls without their bodies.'

Mariam's chin shook. '_No_! What did you do to them?' she screamed, running straight for Ozuma/Haine –

'Mariam, no!' Josef shouted, when light filled the warehouse once again, and Mariam was slammed up against a pile of crates. She flopped to the ground, unmoving and silent.

The possessed Ozuma cackled loudly, when he noticed Kai raise his Beyblade. 'Don't touch her!' Kai spat. 'She has nothing to do with this!'

Ozuma/Haine muttered, 'Well, _everyone _has something to do with this, Kai. I told you that I collect souls for the Prince of Darkness? I need to collect a thousand before I may sit with him, even speak with him like I am to you now.'

Kai cast his eye over Mariam. She still wasn't moving. 'How many do you have?'

Ozuma/Haine said quietly, 'Nine hundred and ninety six.'

And then, beside the hovering bodies that were Ozuma and Dunga's souls, appeared Mariam's own. She just stared at Kai with lifeless eyes, and he felt his stomach twist.

Ozuma/Haine stepped forward. 'Make that nine hundred and ninety seven. Now I only need three more. I think you and Josef can help me there.'

'Run!' Kai said, spinning around and fleeing, Josef close behind. Ozuma/Haine laughed and shouted, 'There's no use, Kai! You'll stop running once I tell you what I have in store next...I plan to take Susi's soul too, for my Prince will love that dearly.'

For a full second, Kai forgot to run. Then Josef seized him around the neck of his shirt and dragged him away.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Kai arrived back at the dojo as another rain shower fell in, and he found the rest of his team sheltering on the porch. As soon as they saw Kai's face, Max and Rei rushed forward to him.

Kai slipped on his own feet, falling to his knees in a nice deep puddle. Max held an arm over his face as he asked, 'Kai? What happened?'

'We can't let him do it!' Kai said, looking up at Max with fiery eyes of anger. 'We just can't!'

Rei felt a chill down his spine. 'Can't let him do what?'

Kai leapt to his feet, grabbing Rei by the collar of his Chinese shirt-thing. 'That guy who attacked you the other night! He tried to take my soul and now he's going to take Susi's!'

'Who's Susi?' Rei asked, and then he paused. 'That girl in your dream? How's he planning to take the soul of a _dream_?'

'Susi's alive, she lives in Russia!' Kai snapped. 'We have to go find her!'

Max said quietly, 'How, Kai?'

Kai released his grip on Rei. 'What?'

'How? You don't even know where Susi is. You said that vision you had was set in the past – Susi could be anywhere by now. Someone could have adopted her.'

Rei thought for a second. 'The home would have to keep records of who went where –'

And then he noticed Kai's sullen face. 'What now?'

'In the memory...the home was falling apart. It was going to be sold. I don't even know if it's there anymore.' Kai muttered, closing his eyes. 'You're right – it's stupid.'

Rei narrowed his neko-like eyes. 'No, it's not. Let's risk it and go – it's worth flying to Russia and being really confused, then standin' around and throwing away Susi's life.'

'Yeah,' Max said confidently. 'And one good turn deserves another.'

Kai looked up and between Rei and Max. They both gave him the thumbs up. Kai smiled slightly.

'Hey, guys...' Josef said weakly from his spot on the ground below Kai. 'If it's not much trouble...do you mind if I hang with yous? That bad guy possessing Ozuma could come for me at any time!'

'No need to worry,' Rei said, clapping his back. 'Kenny will look after you.'

'_Great_...'

-End chapter five-

MidnightBallad: I have nothing to say but review, thanks for reviewing and so forth. The next update won't be too far away, hopefully.


	6. Footprints in Snow

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Beyblade. If I did, I'd have to suffer with Mariah's... "evil-ness" X.x

**Claimer: **I own (from this chapter):

Replies to reviews:

**Lookintomyeyeswhatdoyousee: **Yeah, you got the plot pretty much right. Actually...that's exactly right. I'm glad you like the story so much. I was meant to say last time go my f a n f i c t i o n . n e t account too but it didn't work. Anyway, I don't know how long this story will be...

**SchoolBoredom: **Thank-yoo for the review. Stop predicting the plot! :D

**Whooptido-basil: **Thanks. AHA! Watch out Josef! I love your pen name, by the way :D Reminds me of a British sitcom.

Other:

**MidnightBallad: **Here's another wonderful instalment! I still need info on Tala! :D Haha! Never mind. Enjoy!

P.S: Susi means 'wolf' in Finnish! Sadly, it reminds me of 'sushi'. Damn it...

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

_Hold my Hand_

_Chapter Six: Footprints in Snow_

The Bladebreakers did not fuss too much about who was going to Russia and who wasn't. Tyson and Kenny immediately said that they would sit this one out, and it wasn't long before Max agreed also. Rei said that he was really looking forward to getting away from the dojo, so he agreed to go with Kai. And Hilary, being Hilary, didn't want to be excluded from anything important.

So, it looked like it would only be Kai, Rei and Hilary who went to Russia.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The sun began to set over Japan, bathing the day in a deep orange glow. Kai sat on the porch of the dojo once again, listening to the breeze shift through the trees and watching dark clouds roll over the horizon. He still felt very tired after this whole ordeal –

Kai the noticed the sky darken, and the breeze picked up a little more. The sun seemed to vanish, and Kai watched as a dark shadow stretched across the dojo. Another storm was coming.

Five minutes later, it had struck, and rain poured off the roof of the dojo like a curtain of bright, glittering beads. Unusually bright, glittering beads...

Kai jumped to his feet as a grown woman stepped from the rain, hovering a few feet from the ground – Neblina. Sighing with relief, Kai stepped toward her.

'Hello, Kai.' Neblina said in her beautiful voice. 'I see you have decided to go find Susi. You are a very concerned young man after all.'

Kai did not nod. He just looked at Neblina's shining form, before asking, 'Why me?'

Neblina ceased to hover and landed on the ground softly. 'Sorry?'

'Why me? _Why_ is Haine after me? Why are _you_ trying to protect me?'

Raindrops fell down Neblina's large, feathery wings. A warm smile spread across her face. 'Haine is certainly from hell. I am a counterpart, a guardian of all who are stalked by Haine. You do not know it, but I have been trying to protect the children from the Saint Shields also. However, they did not believe in me as you do.' Her face became dark. 'As for Haine following you...I cannot answer that. Maybe it's because you have a past that is very rare, therefore you are more valuable to him.'

Kai could only stare at the rain as it fell. He felt defenceless, _alone_. His voice croaking, Kai asked, 'Why did Haine send me to the orphanage?'

Neblina's face was still dark. 'To get your soul, apparently, yet it did not work.'

'Thank God.' Kai muttered, before his eyes shot to Neblina. He went pink. 'Ah...sorry.'

Neblina laughed for the first time in a while. Kai didn't think he'd ever heard her laugh before. 'Do not worry.' Her body began to fade, and Neblina said as she vanished, 'Good luck, Kai. I'll be watching after you. Remember: Haine will do anything to get to you, even hurt your friends. So, watch out for them, too.'

Neblina was suddenly gone, only the rain curtain left in her wake. Nodding, Kai went inside to make an important phone call.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The storm worsened overnight, and Kai sat up in bed, watching the lightening flash outside. His heart skipped a beat whenever the thunder sounded overhead – it seemed so very close.

Max and Tyson were lying awake in their beds too, trying to think of words that rhymed with orange. To Kai's great annoyance, they were doing it aloud, and he doubted if anyone else was asleep. Several times Kenny threw a sock at one of the duo, but Max and Tyson just kept on talking...

Kai felt very cold very quickly. Wrapping his covers around him, he flopped back down into the soft depths of his bed. This only made him feel colder, and his body began to shake, as if he were about to have a fit. Kai shouted in frustration and opened his eyes. There was nothing different about the dojo. But...it was very quiet. Tyson and Max had stopped talking, and the rain had ceased to fall.

Seeing as the storm had passed over, Kai decided to go for another walk, maybe just around the dojo's yard. Still fully dressed from the other day, Kai went over to the door and slid it open.

'What?!' Kai gaped, seeing the entire world covered in a thick blanket of snow. He gazed up at the sky – not a single cloud up there. Just a whole lot of blue and white stars above a towering cherry blossom tree.

_Hang on, _Kai thought. _There isn't a cherry blossom tree in the yard_.

'Where am I?' Kai demanded to no one, spinning around. Only the dojo was gone, and the door's frame stood in the middle of the snow. There was nothing left.

Kai let go of the door, but nothing happened. It just sat there, as if an invisible house were holding it up. Taking a deep breath, Kai stepped away from the door, imagining it to vanish. But there it stayed, and for that Kai was grateful.

Kai gazed around the snowy scene – it seemed to be a Chinese rock garden, and there was a large pond in the middle of the scene, in which a large, stone dragon sat. Cherry blossom trees sat everywhere, yet their petals were not only pink, but violet and periwinkle blue also. Around the edge of the scene was a brick wall. So, he was standing in the middle of a yard? A Chinese yard. Great.

Kai then noticed something at his feet. He bent down and picked it up, brushing snow from whatever it was. It was a Beyblade, made entirely out of clear blue ice – at least, its exterior was. The attack ring was a hard, cold metal: maybe iron or steel. Smack-bang in the middle of the Beyblade was a small, silver disk that displayed the picture of an icy blue wolf with its tail made from blue flames.

Last of all, Kai noticed the footprints that snaked past the Beyblade. Pocketing the chunk of ice, Kai followed the footprints to the edge of the pond, where someone sat with their back to him.

Kai held out the Beyblade. 'Hey. Is this yours?'

The person at the pond turned around – Kai instantly recognised who it was.

Kai was looking at himself.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Hilary awoke during the middle of the night and yawned. The storm still lashed overhead – she was very glad that she was in the dojo. But then she felt the freezing cold and the rain spitting in her face. She noticed that someone had left the door open.

Getting to her feet, Hilary went over to the door, when she saw that Kai was outside. Her brow furrowing, Hilary shouted, 'Kai? What're you doing out –'

But then she saw who Kai was talking to: Ozuma. Wait, not Ozuma...the possessed Ozuma. Gasping loudly, Hilary flung herself out the door. And then, with a great scream, she tackled Kai to the ground amongst the mud.

Ozuma/Haine got to his feet and hissed, 'You cannot protect him forever, girl. No one can.'

Hilary gazed up at the impostor. 'Leave Kai alone! What's he ever done to you?'

Ozuma/Haine grinned before walking away. Hilary had half a mind to get up and stop him, but then she noticed Kai move. Hilary watched as he opened his eyes – he didn't seem to be focusing on anything, and just stared away into the rain.

'Kai, what happened...?' Hilary squeaked, before Kai pushed himself upright. He muttered, 'Never mind. I was...' Kai didn't finish his sentence. He just got to her feet and went inside. Hilary watched him go, breathing a deep sigh, before she noticed that Kai had left his Beyblade on the ground (A/N: This is what Kai saw as the icy Beyblade, just in case you want to know). She picked it up and went inside, hoping that more troubles like this very one would not occur when they went to Russia.

-End chapter VI-

**MidnightBallad: **Sorry that this chapter wasn't too long, but I'm just idea-less today. Oh! If you want to, go to my profile and have a look at some picture links I posted, because there's one of Susi there. The images are sketches and rather bad, but I'll post some coloured ones eventually.

Don't forget to review!


	7. Only a Shadow

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Beyblade. If I did, I'd have to suffer with...stuff. I don't own the song the girl sings, either; it's from the Anastasia movie.

**Claimer: **I own (from this chapter):

Replies to reviews:

**Lookintomyeyeswhatdoyousee: **I have a feeling Kai doesn't want to be asked something like that :D

**Chibiwolfgurl: **Just wait and see...

**Fiver: **That's alright and...I'm still tossing up between the Kai/Hil, cause I kind of _suck _at writing stuff like that. Especially with Kai o.0

Other:

**MidnightBallad: **WOW! Feels like forever since I updated (blows dust off the story). So...will you forgive me if I say sorry? Hahaha...read on! Sorry, it's short...ish

-

_Hold my Hand_

_Chapter Seven: Only a Shadow_

Far away, a teenager sat in the dark of her room, staring out at the sky. A sky that was painted with stars, the moon lighting everything in a pale, frosty glow. Sighing deeply, the teen opened the window, swinging it wide until it hit the wall, and she hauled herself butt-first onto the windowsill, taking hold of the guttering on the roof, and gingerly climbing onto the tiled roof. Taking a deep breath, she crawled on her hands and knees until she reached the very top, swung herself around, and sat down with her legs flopped down on the slope of the roof.

Here, the entire city could be seen, sparkling in the night beneath a thin layer of snow. An owl swooped by just below, its feathers rustling in the night.

The girl began to hum under her breath, running her fingers through the snow on the roof. Eventually, the hum became a sweet song. 'Dancing bears, painted wings, things I almost remember...and a song, someone sings, once upon a December –

'Someone holds me safe and warm, horses prance through a silver storm, figures dancing gracefully across my memories...'

The girl continued to hum; eventually began to sing again. 'Someone holds me safe and warm, horses dance through a silver storm, figures dancing gracefully, across my memories –

'Far away, long ago, glowing dim as an ember, things my heart, used to know, things its yearns to remember...and a song, someone sings.' She held this for a while, before sighing and continuing. 'One upon a December...'

The girl stopped, her breath rising as silver mist. 'So..._are _you only a shadow?'

-

Hilary was skipping down the aisle between the seats on the plane – a plane that was bound to Russia – humming the words to some song Kai knew as 'Once Upon a December'.

'Hilary, can you...shut up!' Rei snapped, taking off his headphones. 'Why are you singing that song anyway?'

'Because, Rei, it's symbolic to our journey!' Hilary said with a bright smile on her face. Rei's face fell. 'How so?'

Hilary took a deep breath. 'Well, the song is from a movie about a Russian princess who goes looking for her family, but her memory is kind jumbled. Kai's doing the same thing – he's Russian, he's looking for someone in his past, which in this case, is utterly screwed!'

'Thanks...' Kai mumbled from his seat at the window, although his eyes weren't fixed on Hilary. They gazed out the window at the blue sky, at the white clouds passing beneath them.

'What's wrong, Kai?' Hilary said, jumping into the seat next to him. 'Why're you sad?'

'I'm not!' Kai snapped, whipping around to face her. Hilary was trying to stare him down, so Kai just turned back to the window.

Hilary said timidly, 'Kai? Do you think – Susi is your sister?'

Kai had been thinking the same thing. And deep down...he knew it. Susi had been lost to him so long ago. He almost felt that he had _betrayed _her somehow, leaving her in the orphanage.

But, then again, Kai had never known about her...

Kai closed his eyes, whispering to himself. 'She can't be...only a shadow.'

-

Someone whacked Kai over the head with a can of soda. Grunting as he awoke, Kai saw Rei and Hilary leaning over his seat. The plane seemed to have landed. Hilary beamed, and Rei just nodded his head.

'Ready to go?' he asked.

Kai's eyes slipped back out the window. The land outside was cold, frozen beneath a cloak of snow. _So, I'm back... _Kai thought.

The rest of the day was a blur to Kai: retrieving his bags from the airport, grabbing a ride to his hotel (conveniently booked by Mr. Dickens) and tossing his stuff in a set of drawers. Gazing around his empty room, Kai went over to the window and drew back the curtains.

There the evil demon was, reflected in the glass, his – Ozuma's – eyes almost hollow. Kai stepped back, throwing the curtains back together.

'Haine!' Kai growled to no one. 'You're still following me?'

A voice in his head laughed. _I'll keep haunting you, Kai...until my debt is paid off _–

'Shut up!' Kai yelled, kicking the window; he heard it crack. Cursing, Kai slowly opened the windows, and no longer was the demon there. Just a crack in the glass. Whistling innocently, Kai decided to go down to the reception area to ask the person down there something.

-

The receptionist handed Kai a map of Moscow, saying, 'Well, there aren't many orphanages around these days. My best bet would be _The Saint's Orphanage_, but be careful not to miss it. It's been revamped over the last year.'

Kai nodded, pocketing the map. 'I'll remember, thanks.'

He was met a few seconds later by Rei, who looked very bored indeed, throwing his Beyblade between his hands.

'Hi...'

Kai frowned slightly. 'Hi – what?'

Rei hung his head back. 'I am _so _bored!' (A/N: Kinda ooc for Rei...sounds more like something Tyson would say).

Kai folded his arms across his chest. 'I got the map, we're going to go Susi-hunting in the morning.'

Rei's head snapped back up the right way. 'Hilary's bored, too. She's been chasing me all over the place, wanting to manicure my nails. I tell you, if you don't give her something to do –'

'I will, then.' Kai replied firmly. 'She can ring up _The Saint's Orphanage _and ask if a girl named Susi is still there.'

Rei looked rather unconvinced that something that simple would keep Hilary entertained.

-

Hilary hung up the phone, a bright smile plastered over her face. She turned to Kai and Rei, who had been waiting with baited breaths.

'She's _there_!' Hilary burst out, almost jumping off the ground. 'I can't believe it!'

Kai breathed a very...very long sighed of relief. So, the trip over here hadn't been in vain. He was really going to meet the girl from the strange 'dream' Haine had sent him into.

-

Morning had never come so quickly. Breakfast had never passed so quickly. And, before Kai knew what had hit him, he was sitting in the back of a taxi as it drove himself, Rei and Hilary to _The Saint's Orphanage_.

Kai felt like he was going to be sick.

And Hilary was still humming 'Once Upon a December'. Wait, no – she'd switched songs to another she later said was called 'Journey to the Past'. Kai supposed this song was as significant to his trip as the last one was, although to him it sounded sappier.

The taxi turned into a street that looked rather old, but somehow new. Kai noticed that many old buildings had been extended recently, in particular a large building right at the end of the street, surrounded by a wrought iron fence/gate that was marked with frost.

The taxi drew nearer to these gates, its tires crunching in the snow. Kai had second thoughts about opening the door, but eventually he worked up the nerve to do so, and swung it open quickly, allowing Rei and Hilary to jump out before he slammed it shut. Kai leant in the front passenger window, paid the driver and then gazed up at the orphanage. It looked in much better shape than it had in his dream –

'Who're you?'

Kai, Rei and Hilary turned to see a little boy, no older than six, staring at them from behind the gate. His eyes seemed larger than usual in his head, and his tiny fingers clasped the gate like they were prison bars.

'Hey.' Hilary said, bending down to eye level. 'I'm Hilary – me and my friends are looking for someone.'

The little boy narrowed his bug-like eyes. 'Who?'

Hilary cast a look at Kai, who finally spoke out. 'A girl named Susi.'

The boy gasped and jumped away from the gate, pointing a finger straight at Kai. 'Y-you! Ever since you came...Susi's been going crazy! She's been talking in her sleep, talking about angels and demons. The Headmistress had to lock her up for a week. And all the while she was silent. We thought she'd _died_.'

'I'm not here to kill her, kid.'

But the little boy was off, leaving deep footprints in the snow.

'Susi's been going crazy every since _you _appeared?' Rei questioned his captain. 'But...why?'

'I don't know,' Kai answered coldly. 'Let's find out.' He keyed the intercom, and a metallic voice answered:

'_Welcome to The Saint's Orphanage, how may we help you_?'

'I'm here to talk to a girl named Susi, where can I find her?' Kai asked like a legitimate man.

There was silence, a 'hold, please', and then the gate finally swung open. Children that were playing in the snow turned their heads, a group of older teens gazed almost hatefully at the trio entering their home.

Kai, Rei and Hilary reached the front door, where they were met by the Headmistress, a tall skeletal woman with dark hair and a crooked nose. Looking at Kai, then at Rei and finally at Hilary, she stepped back into the hallway. 'Susi is outside, playing with some of the younger children. You may go see her, but make it quick.' She shut the door quickly in their faces.

Rei rolled his shoulders determinedly. 'Alright...let's go get her.'

-End chapter seven-

**MidnightBallad: **Ack, it's done! Hoorah! I'll update again soon, I promise. If not, feel free to yell at me :D

Tata, all!


	8. The Lone Wolf

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Beyblade – HEAR THAT, LAWYERS!

**Claimer: **I own (from this chapter): Whoever you don't recognise from Beyblade, basically...Gen, June and the orphanage kids.

**Replies to reviews: **

Thanks for all your positive-ness, this story will now continue!

Other:

**MidnightBallad: **Um...just read on, eh? Enjoy!

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

_Hold my Hand_

_Chapter Eight: The Lone Wolf_

The orphanage was huge; bigger than Kai remembered it in the 'dream'. The main building was at least six storeys high, and there was another building, almost the same height, not too far behind it. The grounds of the orphanage were covered in a thick layer of snow, which was only broken by the footprints of those who lived within the old walls. There was little for the children to do beside sway on the swings or play hopscotch on the back veranda of the main building. Other children played games with skipping ropes, but were otherwise confined to talking or snowball fights.

Between the two buildings was a small pond with an ugly horse-and-knight statue in the centre. Usually, it produced a flurry of water, but not now. The horse's stone hooves were invisible within the ice.

Kai, Rei and Hilary could see many children doing cartwheels in the snow by the fountain, but the main attraction seemed to be a makeshift volleyball net, which a large group of kids and what seemed like two adolescents were playing.

Kai immediately felt his insides squirm.

The ball then came flying for his head –

_Wham_.

Kai stumbled back and landed on his butt in the snow, holding a hand over what felt like his bleeding nose. He blinked down at the white of the snow; dotted with blood.

'Kyara! Go say sorry to our visitor!' One of the two adolescents barked. She was shorter than the first, with her wavy brown hair tied back in a bun to reveal a face that had been severely burnt once upon a time.

Kai stopped looking cross-eyed at his nose and found a little girl staring at him, face white with cold, a curious expression in her eyes. Her nose wriggled slightly.

'Kyara!'

The little girl grabbed the ball, which was now by Rei's feet. Without a word, she hurried back to the volleyball net. Kai heard a loud groan of annoyance from the net and the teen with the russet hair came over, dragging her feet.

'Hey, sorry about that,' she said to Kai, eyeing the blood trickling from his nose. 'The kid's are shy, you see?' She giggled at Kai's blank expression. 'Ah, need some help?'

It was then that the second teen came over, a few of the children following her, obviously coming to see who the strangers were.

Kai swallowed deeply.

It was Susi, it just had to be. Every part of her was the same, right up to her roughly cut hair and dark eyes. She even wore the same coat Kai had met her in, save for it had been mended with even more patches.

'Susi?' Kai asked, his voice croaking slightly, perhaps from the pain throbbing in his throat. Perhaps from his nerves.

Susi frowned slightly. 'Yeah, that's me.'

Kai took his hand away from his nose. Several of Susi's young accompaniments rushed off screaming. They didn't like blood. It was sticky and red.

Kai supposed that Susi wanted to scream too. Her mouth fell open slightly, and she muttered, 'So, who are you?'

'You don't remember me?' Kai clenched his teeth. 'Kai. Kai Hiwatari.'

A little boy beside Susi gasped, poked her in the knee. 'Susi, Susi? Isn't he the –'

'Madár, shoosh.' Susi snapped, before looking back at Kai. 'I do not know you and fail to see why I should. You're an intruder on our grounds, so either adopt someone or get out.'

The brown-haired adolescent burst out laughing. But Kai couldn't take his eyes off Susi: she was dead serious.

'Susi...?' Kai asked in a hushed voice. 'I thought –'

'And don't call me Susi,' the dream-girl said stubbornly. 'Only my friends call me that. The name's Gen.'

With that, she was off.

The reality hit Kai over the head like the volleyball. His thoughts hadn't deceived him – Gen, was really his sister.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

'Maybe she's having a delayed reaction to Kai's appearance, sort of like those guys in 'Nam.' Hilary was saying at the hotel café that night, Rei and Kai both sitting with her.

'You can't call it " 'Nam", Hilary!' Rei barked. 'You have to call it "Vietnam", like everyone else!'

Hilary sighed deeply and turned to Kai. 'I'm really sorry, Kai. I thought Susi – I mean, Gen – would be happy to see you.'

Kai closed his eyes and bowed his head. 'So did I...'

The words hung in the air. Kai nearly punched himself – what had he expected? For Gen to come rushing into his arms after all these years away from him, when he had been the one who hadn't come to her in so long?

'...What are we going to do?' Rei asked quietly. 'Go back to the orphanage?'

'What else can we do? We can't leave Gen there without letting her know how much Kai cares about her.' Hilary pointed out. 'Besides, what about that freaky spirit that's been following us around?'

'Haine?' Rei said bluntly. 'How is he going to get to us? We're ages away.'

'Just because he's some kind of demon doesn't mean he can't follow us,' Kai muttered. 'He can get us no matter where we go.'

He looked up. Both Rei and Hilary appeared quite concerned.

'Have you seen him, Kai?' Rei asked timidly, as if afraid of the answer.

Kai wrapped his hands around his drink, drumming his fingers on it thoughtfully. 'I don't know. Just a reflection.'

'_Reflection_?' Hilary said, confused. 'Where?'

'Hotel window.'

'So, he _is _here?'

Kai sighed. 'He's everywhere, Hilary.'

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Back over at _The Saint's Orphanage_, Gen was getting ready for bed when there was an unexpected tap at her dormitory door. Gen looked left and right, hoping that the knock wouldn't wake the two younger girls she shared her room with, before she went over and answered the door.

Standing outside was Gen's best friend in the orphanage, June, who had been playing volleyball with her today when Kai had appeared. Her hair had been let out, obscuring her burn from view.

'Hey,' June said in a mere whisper. 'Bad time?'

Gen shook her head. 'Not at all. What is it?'

'I just came to ask if you're okay.' June said.

Gen nodded now. 'Yeah.'

'I mean...what about that guy? Is he stalking you or something? Are you worried about it?' June questioned, sounding more timid by the minute. Usually, she was a loud and bold person, but when she was alone, June was a very quiet and calm individual.

Gen sighed deeply. 'No, it's okay. I know that guy.'

June instantly became bright. '_Ooh_! Do you have a secret boyfriend that I don't know about? He _is _cute.'

Gen didn't laugh at all. Instead, she muttered, 'No. He's...my brother.'

June fell silent and a hush seemed to envelope the hallway. 'What? But, Gen, you don't _have _a brother.'

'I do.'

'But, how? No one's come to visit you in years.'

Gen cleared her throat, about to recap on a small and painful memory of hers. 'When all the staff here thought I'd gone crazy, I hadn't. I had a vision...and Kai was in it.'

'And he said you were his sister?'

'No, but...' the corner of Gen's lips twitched, as if she were about to smile. 'I felt it. There was a connection, like some invisible rope that held us together; it was weak, but it was there. For once, I felt whole, and when he spoke, everything just seemed...right again.'

June listened on in silence, mouth hanging open slightly. For a moment, she was jealous, but then she was happy for Gen. All she could say was, 'He had your eyes.'

'Our _mother's _eyes.' Gen corrected her quietly.

June nodded, but then asked croakily, 'Why were you so..._mean _to him.'

Gen chewed her lip. 'It's just – I don't know. A part of me didn't want to believe he'd come back to me.'

'I'm happy for you, Gen. But that was a stupid thing to do.'

'I know...'

'Are you going to go find him?' June wondered curiously. Gen shrugged, scratching her fingernails into the wood of her door. 'I don't know where he is.'

June gave her a small wink. 'Don't worry: he'll come to you.'

Gen nodded and smiled, perhaps for the first time after seeing Kai. 'I hope so...I think I owe him an apology.'

June wagged a finger at Gen. 'You bet you do, missy.'

Gen just laughed and closed her door. June sighed a happy sigh and made her way back to her dormitory, which was just down the hall from Gen's.

When she got there, she sincerely wished she'd stayed back with Gen.

The dark figure moved fast, and before June knew it, a blade was in her neck and her life vanished before her eyes.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Kai awoke suddenly back at the hotel, roused by a dream. He wasn't sure, but he swore he saw Haine lingering in the shadows, his blade cutting through flesh and blood flickering through the air.

Kai sat up, flicking on the lamp on his bedside table. His eyes wandered to the phone there, and for a moment, a serious thought passed through his head.

Kai picked up the phone and began to dial; dial the number for _The Saint's Orphanage_.

The receptionist there picked up and said something briskly in Russian. Kai answered back, also in Russian, asking for Gen. The receptionist seemed confused to why Kai was calling at this hour, but she put Kai through to the phone upstairs in the hallway where Gen's room was.

Kai waited for only a few moments before Gen answered. Immediately, he heard that she'd been crying: her voice was shaky and she continuously sniffed loudly into the phone.

'Hello?' Gen whispered.

'Su – Gen? What's wrong?' Kai asked, grinding his teeth.

Gen sniffed again, and Kai could almost hear the tears on her face as they left her eyes. 'Kai...something terrible just happened...'

-End chapter eight-

**MidnightBallad: **Sorry for the slowness of the updating, but this story's just getting good, for me anyway. Please don't make me discontinue it, cause this had got to be one of the best stories I've written. Plus, I cried in that chapter...music from Final Fantasy X and dramatic scenes don't go well together.

Right, better go. Don't forget to review!


	9. A Darkened Return

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Beyblade. So bite me.

**Claimer: **I own (from this chapter): Gen, June, the Soul Catcher Beyblade

**Replies to reviews:**

**alannacrystal: **Welcome to...here! (seeing as I can't write the stupid website's name...) I'll get around to reading your story some time ;)

**SchoolBoredom: **You're still here? I thought you'd be sick of my story by nowWell, thanks for reading

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Other:

**MidnightBallad: **Um...this chapter rated a little higher because it contains "Mature Themes". I might need to raise the actual story rating now.

- - - - - - - - - - -

_Hold my Hand_

_Chapter Nine: A Darkened Return _

Kai felt as though ice had been forced down his throat. 'Gen, what happened?'

Gen just sniffed and gave a small sob.

'What happened? Gen – are you still there?'

Gen suddenly whispered, 'I have to go.' She cut the connection. Kai put his own phone down slowly.

There was no way Kai could sleep, not now, not after hearing Gen's voice over the phone. So he sat up in bed, wondering what he was going to do.

Of course, in the morning, he would go to the orphanage, but there was no way he could go now. Whatever had happened at the orphanage, he was sure he wouldn't be allowed in now.

Kai thought hard, planned his conversation with Gen early. He was dying to pick up the phone and talk to her again, but would Gen answer him again?

Kai then realised how strange he felt. When he had run into Gen this morning, she had been quite cold to him, but not that she was in some sort of crisis, she seemed to be able to talk to Kai. And Kai could talk to her in return. It was as if they'd never been apart.

How long had it been since Gen had been thrown in the orphanage? Kai was guessing at least thirteen years...thirteen years without a family, without anyone to love and call your own. The thought was depressing; Kai wondered how Gen had managed. Maybe being called 'Susi' helped keep her feelings, her real name and what little of her past life she knew about, inside of her.

Kai wished that he could do the same.

- - - - - - - - - - -

The doorbell to Kai's room was ringing furiously as he awoke in the morning. Groaning slightly, Kai glanced out the window – it was snowing thickly outside, and the glass of the window had thin cobwebs of frost growing across it.

The doorbell wrung another six times.

'Yeah, hang on!' Kai yelled, climbing out of bed and staring through the tiny peephole in the door. Hilary's nose was maximised to about three times its normal size.

'Hilary?' Kai asked. Rei's head appeared in the hole's view.

'Me too!' Rei chimed.

'What do you guys want?'

'Aren't you going to go and talk to Gen today?'

Kai gasped silently. How could he have forgotten? Gen was a mess over at the orphanage. In under a minute, Kai was ready to get going, Beyblade jammed in his pocket, scarves wrapped around his neck, as well as a jacket or two and gloves.

Hilary and Rei were dressed the same, although Hilary looked more like a polar bear than a human, her head almost invisible beneath a fluffy white hood.

'Morning!' Hilary said cheerfully, as if trying to stain Kai with her mood, but Kai couldn't be brightened this morning.

'Yeah, whatever, we got to go.' Kai said, closing his door hurriedly and putting the key in one of his many pockets.

'Why are you in such a rush?' Rei asked, frowning the slightest.

Kai explained to the two what had happened last night as they made their way to the elevators.

'Kai, are you sure you don't have a second sight?' Hilary asked, watching Rei tap the call button several times. Kai raised an eyebrow and turned to her. After meeting Haine and the angel Neblina, he would think too hard about the possibility of second sights.

The elevator arrived with a short ping. Kai, Hilary and Rei squished in amongst a bunch of others and rode it down to the ground level, before hurrying out onto the streets and gazing up and down the frozen road for a taxi. When one passed, Hilary jumped up and down so much on the sidewalk that she fell over.

The driver went through the early-morning traffic and turned off down a quiet street. Not many people seemed to be out so early in the cold. Hilary and Rei drew on the taxi windows to amuse themselves, but Kai couldn't really think of anything but the orphanage.

The taxi suddenly stopped.

'Are you sure this is the place?' The driver asked, his English barely recognisable under a thick Russian accent. Kai stared out the front windshield: there were police cars parked in every possible space outside of _The Saint's Orphanage_, and they had strung tape across the main gate.

'What's going on?' Rei asked no one in particular.

Hilary quivered next to Kai. 'Did someone...die?'

Kai payed the taxi driver without a word and stepped onto the street, making his way to the orphanage with Hilary and Rei not far behind.

The police weren't happy that Kai and the others had come. Hilary and Rei watched on helplessly as Kai got himself into a heated argument with a police officer, the conversation just one big strand of Russian to them. Finally, the officer spoke into one of his radios, and he turned back to the teens.

'Wait a minute. Your friend's coming down to get you.'

Kai turned back to Hilary and Rei. They said nothing, but their eyes asked for answers instead.

'Someone's been killed,' Kai explained. 'That or a suicide. The police can't tell.'

'What do you mean, "they can't tell"?' Rei snapped. 'Isn't there a murder weapon or anything?'

Kai shook his head. Just then, someone called to him from the front gate of the orphanage. Kai, Hilary and Rei went up to the gate and were greeted by a red-eyed Gen. She looked very cold, very tired and very distressed.

'Hey,' Kai said quietly. 'Are you okay?'

Gen wrapped her bare fingers around the bars of the gate. 'June's died.'

'Any idea how?' Hilary asked.

Gen squeezed her lips together before saying, 'No... Her throat had been slashed. By the time I got there...she was gone. She couldn't tell me who did it; whether it was herself or an attacker.'

'The police can't find anything?' Rei questioned.

'No. They said it was as if no one was there. There was no sign of a struggle – there was no sign of anything.'

There was silence for a few moments.

'Can we come on?' Kai asked. Gen sniffed and looked behind her.

'I'll ask. Can you wait for a minute?'

'Yeah.' Kai answered.

Gen was gone in a flash. The trio waited only two minutes before the gates opened and Kai, Hilary and Rei were allowed in under the watch of many police officers.

The orphanage seemed eerie and silent. Just about every child or adolescent inside had been moved out of the main building and were now seated out in the snow, squatting around fires as the police interrogated a few people. All they seemed to be getting was crying youngsters and moody teenagers.

The three were taken upstairs by an officer and met Gen just outside of her own dormitory. The police seemed to not want to let her go: she had been the last person to talk to June before she turned up dead.

'Did she seem upset when you spoke to her last? Was she talking about anything she regretted?' An officer was asking. Gen launched into a short story about her last conversation with June.

Gen eventually pulled away from them and came up to Kai and the others.

'What's going to happen?' Hilary asked in a hushed voice.

'They'll give her a funeral. She won't be buried here, though.'

Kai watched officers go in and out of June's room. 'They think she killed herself?'

'Don't know,' Gen replied. 'If she'd killed herself, then the weapon would still be around. If someone else did it, the only way out was through the main gate, and there's a security camera there: after you three left, no one came or went.'

'Maybe it was someone here?' Kai proposed. Gen's face went red.

'No one here would kill someone. I'd bet my own life on that.' She growled.

Kai then had a thought; eyes fixed on June's room, he asked Gen, 'Do you think I could get a look?'

'Um...maybe. Just go, and if they stop you, _then _ask them.'

Kai made his way into June's room, Hilary and Rei a few steps behind, Gen walking close behind Rei.

Kai stepped back into Hilary when he saw the amount of blood on the floor. June had been covered with a sheet, but nothing else had been touched. There were forensic investigators in the room, taking photos and dusting for foot- or fingerprints. The only thing disturbed was the window, which was left open, letting snow fall into the room.

Kai knelt down next to the lumpy sheet that was June. He glanced over his shoulder at Gen, who stood shivering behind Rei still. 'You might not want to look.'

Gen shook her head. 'It's okay. Go...'

Kai lifted the sheet from June's face. Her eyes had been closed, her face was deathly white, lips dark blue, and her hair fell gently over her face. Kai held his breath and looked down at the bloody mess that was the death-causing wound for June.

The gash was unlike anything Kai had been on any cop show. It wasn't clean, as if it had been done with a knife. In fast, it looked like it had been done with...

'No way.' Kai whispered, taking his Beyblade from his back pocket. He ran his fingers over its attack ring, and then looked at the slash across June's throat.

'Someone did this with a Beyblade.' Kai said, loud enough for everyone to hear.

That got people's heads turning.

'W-what?' Gen stammered. 'A Beyblade?'

It was then that the police chose to come striding into June's room, holding something in a clear plastic bag – a bloodstained, white stone Beyblade.

Kai saw the colour drain from Gen's face.

'Is this yours?' One of the officers asked.

Gen was stunned, so much so that she could barely speak.

'Take her away.' The same officer said.

Everyone moved at once. The police hurried for Gen; Hilary gasped and slapped her hands to her mouth; Kai leapt to his feet and fastened a hand around Gen's arm.

'Let her go!' Kai yelled.

'Get lost, kid!' One of officers holding Gen spat.

'I said: let her go!'

'I said: _get lost ki_ –'

'WAIT!'

All eyes fell to Rei, who was standing over June's lifeless body. He pointed to the white Beyblade in the bag.

'Can I have that for a second?' He asked.

The officers hesitated, before handing the Beyblade over to Rei. Without taking it from the bag, Rei held the Beyblade up the gash. For at least three minutes he observed – no one else moved or dared to speak.

Finally, Rei straightened up. 'There is no way that Gen's Beyblade did this. If it had, the wound would be a lot bigger – look at the scythes on the thing,' he added, holding up Gen's blade. It looked as though it had dagger blades attached to it. Then Rei took out his own Beyblade. 'It would have been done with something more like mine.' He put Drigger away.

'Maybe she didn't use enough force.' Growled one of the officers.

'Do a DNA test on the blood on that Beyblade and you'll see I'm right.' Rei said simply, eyeing the officers with his neko eyes. He looked at Gen, who smiled slightly.

_Thank you_, she mouthed.

After a long wait, the officers released Gen and she stumbled back.

'We'll do just that. Until then...' The police left the room, seemingly disappointed that they hadn't been able to take Gen around.

'Alright,' Kai said, once they were alone in the room. 'Nice work Rei –'

'You're welcome.' Rei said with a smug smile on his face. Hilary punched him lightly on the back.

'Show-off...' She muttered.

'Who would have done it?' Gen was whispering. 'Who would have gone through the trouble of killing June and setting me up for it?'

Kai sighed, looking back at June. 'I've got a pretty good idea who.'

Hilary shivered. 'Haine?'

'Haine it is. He's after us again.'

-End chapter nine-

**MidnightBallad: **Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don't forget to review :)


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